[Chapter 42. There Is Only The Win]

  Bone splinters flew in all directions as the massive elemental dire wolf landed inside the bone pit. A dense fog enveloped almost its entire body, slowly sinking to the ground and obscuring the frost-covered floor. Wherever the fog touched, the ice thickened, crawling across bone fragments and stone alike. Pressed against a wall, his rifle already pointing towards the center of the bone pit, its barrel glowing a violent violet color.

  There was no time to admire it. Five thick violet beams shot out from all across the chamber. Searanox and his four drones unleashed the beams they had charged, tearing into the wolf's flesh and leaving streaks of strange blue blood that coated its silver fur.

  He pushed off the ground and sprinted, bone shards flying behind him as the massive wolf spun around. Ice claws carved deep grooves into the wall where he had stood moments ago. Searanox hip-fired his rifle, striking the wolf's chest and leaving nothing but burned silver fur behind.

  By then the fog covered the entire bone pit, the ground a solid piece of ice instead of the loose chunks and splinters of bone. His boots dug into the frozen ground, the jagged edges of bone fragments buried beneath giving him precious traction. He almost lost balance as his foot slipped, catching himself on a few protruding bones at the last second.

  With the normal shots proving ineffective, he overcharged his four drones and continued his sprint. In a split second, he dismissed one of his offensive drones to summon a defensive one, its barrier flickering on just in time to absorb the blow of the massive paw. The shield shattered together with the drone, buying precious time that he needed to dodge. Pumping Overcharge after Overcharge into his drones, the wounds on the dire wolf added up.

  It whipped its head toward him just as the fog started to flow inward instead of outward. Switching out one offensive for a defensive drone, there was not enough time to summon multiple, one had to do. After pumping an overcharge into it, its barrier grew more dense, just as a torrent of hail and ice blasted against it. The barrier cracked then broke mid-way through. Searanox had already turned around and made himself smaller, protecting his head.

  Shards of ice dug into his back. Ice clung to him like a second skin, each shard digging deeper with every ragged breath he took. Hot blood ran down his frozen back, the contrasting sensations of searing pain and numbing cold creating a dizzying spiral of agony. Every wound was pure agony, but it was better than the alternative being paralyzed in this frozen hellhole, unable to move while the Elemental Dire Wolf closed in for the kill.

  He gritted his teeth, the coppery taste of blood filling his mouth as he pushed himself up, his fingers slipping on the ice-covered bone fragments beneath him. The cold seeped into his bones, a relentless reminder that time was running out.

  With a trembling hand, Searanox reached for the edge of the disk that materialized beside him. He barely managed to pull himself onto the travel drone before it yanked him away from the bone pit, accelerating with brutal force. The drone shot into dizzying circles around the chamber, speed overwhelming the pain in his back.

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  Searanox squeezed his eyes shut against the blur of motion, grateful for the drone's unique property that only allowed intentional movements. Without it, the sheer g-forces would have torn him from its surface.

  Through his mental connection, he gathered what information he could from his drones. It was fragmented at best, just the number of active drones, their positions, and the persistent threat in the room. He couldn't pinpoint its exact location, only that it remained, and that knowledge had to be enough.

  His vision blurred as the drone spun in dizzying circles, the chamber a kaleidoscope of frost and bone. Ice shards stung his back with every rotation, and his TP reserves drained faster than ever before. Lying flat against the travel drone, he squeezed his eyes shut, fighting against the vertigo that threatened to overwhelm him. For a split second, he forced his racing thoughts to slow, desperately searching for a sliver of hope in this frozen hell. With each shot his drones took his TP lost a good chunk of its reserves.

  The unintended thought slipped out before he could stop it, and his drones responded instantly. Swarming above the wolf like vultures to a carcass. Their impulse emitters charged, the air crackling with building energy.

  Then they fired, not the scattered beams of before, but a single, devastatingly focused column of violet light.

  Even through his closed eyelids, the brilliant violet light burned through, followed by a sound that was a far cry from the normal soft buzzing hum but an almost concussive, roaring of unleashed power.

  But it wasn't the beam's blast that caught his attention; it was the whimper that followed. With each subsequent blast, the whimper grew more pronounced, mingling with the sharp crack of shattering stone and furious snarls. Two shots, then his TP reserves hit empty. The overcharge ended as abruptly as it had begun.

  The travel drone shuddered to a halt on the highest plateau, its smooth descent replaced by a rough landing. Searanox's eyes snapped open, the world swimming back into focus after what felt like hours but had, in reality, been mere minutes of chaos.

  Searanox peered over the edge of the plateau, his gaze falling into the bone pit below. The entire area had been transformed into a frozen wasteland, with ice covering every surface. Deep gouges scarred the landscape where ice claws had torn through Ice and Stone alike. In the center of this chaos lay the Elemental Dire Wolf, still alive but grievously wounded. It no longer stood but lay in a pool of its own frozen blood, its breathing shallow and ragged. Between its shoulder blades, a gaping hole revealed shattered bone and torn muscle.

  Searanox thought, his mind already calculating.

  "Just stay down there. I'll put you out of your misery as soon as I get my TP back."

  He slid back from the edge, the cold seeping into his bones as he settled against the rock wall. The sight of the wounded beast below should have brought satisfaction, but all he felt was a hollow ache. The victory, if it could be called that, had cost him.

  He watched the elemental wolf, and it watched him back. Through its crystalline eyes, he could see the defiance still burning, though its body refused to obey its will. Both were trapped in a stalemate, unable to deliver the final blow. Time crawled by, each minute stretching into an eternity.

  The ice that had embedded itself in his back had melted, leaving raw wounds that continued to bleed, soaking through what remained of his shirt. With the TP that had slowly regenerated, he summoned a healing drone. The blue spark of its materialization cut through the gloom as it floated above him, its soft light casting a gentle glow on the frost-covered walls. The drone hovered directly over his back, and a warm beam enveloped him, knitting torn flesh and sealing wounds.

  "I hope you don't mind," he managed, a painful chuckle escaping his lips as the healing energy coursed through him.